To apply, you must:
9 Arkansas Dealer License Requirements
Arkansas Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's Licenses are issued by the Division of Arkansas State Police (ASP). This page covers Arkansas's 1 Dealer License type, its requirements, bond size, costs, and how to apply.
Name your Dealership
Your company name is the first step, because you use it through the entire Dealer License process. Arkansas's Dealer application accepts an Individual, Partnership, Corporation, or LLC, and the law's definition of a person also includes firms, associations, and trusts.
An LLC keeps your business separate from your personal life and adds trust to the name. Whatever business type you pick, the application lists every person or entity with an ownership interest in the dealership.
Choose your Dealer License Type
Arkansas issues the Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License in 2 forms on the same State Police portal. A Primary Dealer License covers your first location, and a Satellite Dealer License covers each location after it. One license covers a used dealer, a wholesaler, or an auto auction, and every vehicle type. There is no separate wholesale or auction license.
| License Type | What It Lets You Do |
|---|---|
| Primary Dealer LicenseYour first or only location | Buy and sell used vehicles as a used dealer, wholesaler, or auto auction, at the dealer auctions and to the public. Every vehicle type, on one license |
| Satellite Dealer LicenseEach second and later location of the same dealer | The same license for another location. Each satellite location gets its own license certificate, for $125 a year |
Get your Dealer Bond (Corporate Surety Bond)
An Arkansas Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License requires a $25,000 corporate surety bond for each licensed location (§ 23-112-607(c)(2)). The bond protects customers if you break Arkansas's used-dealer laws. A $25,000 Dealer Bond costs only $250 a year at the base rate, after a credit check.
A dealer with several locations can file one $100,000 bond covering all of them instead of a $25,000 bond for each. The bond has no fixed term; it stays in force for as long as you hold the license. If it lapses, the State Police suspends the license until a new bond is on file (Rule 2.7).
| License Type | You Pay | Bond Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's LicenseArkansas - Used Motor Vehicle Dealer, Wholesaler, or Auto Auction ($25,000). Credit check required | $250/yearabout $21 a month | $25,000 |
Get your Dealer Liability Insurance
An Arkansas Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License requires proof of liability insurance on every vehicle you offer for sale (§ 23-112-607(c)(3)). It is separate from the bond, and in addition to it. The coverage must meet the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act minimum: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage.
Those are the limits of the policy, not the price; your insurance agent quotes the cost. If the policy lapses, the State Police suspends the license until new coverage is on file, the same as the bond (Rule 2.7).
Set up your Dealer Office (Established Place of Business)
An Arkansas Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License requires “a bona fide established place of business used primarily for the sale of used motor vehicles” (§ 23-112-607(c)(6)). The table below is the statute's own list.
Arkansas publishes no minimum lot size, display-vehicle count, or parking-spot count, and the state requires no zoning sign-off. Zoning is a city or county matter.
| What Arkansas Requires | |
|---|---|
| Place of business | A bona fide established place of business used primarily for the sale of used motor vehicles |
| Phone | A telephone number listed in the name of the business |
| Sign | A sign identifying the establishment as a used motor vehicle dealership, legible from the street, road, or highway, with a picture of it |
| Records | A filing cabinet or other repository adequate to secure the business records of the establishment under lock and key or combination |
| Photo | A photograph of the business location, sent with the application |
Disclose your Dealer License History
An Arkansas Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License requires no background check and no fingerprints. The application asks one history question instead: have you held a motor vehicle dealer's license, and was one ever suspended or revoked (§ 23-112-607(c)(10)).
You verify the application by oath or affirmation, and a material misstatement is a ground to deny, suspend, or revoke the license (Rule 2.12).
If you have a record
- No criminal-history bar. Nothing in the dealer statute or the State Police licensing rules asks about a conviction or bars an applicant for one.
- No waiting period. Arkansas publishes none, because there is no conviction bar for a clock to run against.
- A denial can be appealed. If the Director denies a license, you get the reason in writing and 14 days to appeal, and the hearing is held within 60 days (Rule 3.1).
- Conduct as a dealer is different. A guilty or no-contest plea to a violation of the dealer law itself, like title fraud, can cancel a license (§ 23-112-604(b)).
Pass the Site Inspection (Officer's Affidavit)
An Arkansas Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License location is inspected before the license is issued, not after. Your application must include an affidavit from a State Police officer or an approved designee. It states the facility was inspected within the 30 days before issuance and found in compliance (§ 23-112-607(c)(11)).
The inspection repeats before each renewal. After 10 years continuously licensed at the same facility, you only need it once every other year.
Submit your Dealer License Application
You apply to the Division of Arkansas State Police online, through the eGov portal linked from its Used Motor Vehicle Dealer License page. There is no paper application. The fee is $250 a year for a Primary Dealer License and $125 a year for each Satellite Dealer License. Every fee is itemized under costs.
The application asks for one Social Security Number, from the President or Owner, not from every owner.
Get your Dealer License Plates
Arkansas dealer license plates come from the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), and only after the State Police has licensed you. A Dealer's Master License Plate is $100, and each Dealer's Extra License Plate is $25, one for each authorized driver you list with DFA.
Dealer tags in Arkansas let you drive your inventory for personal trips, not only business. Under § 27-14-1704(b), the dealer and the dealer's owners, officers, managers, and salespersons can use a plated vehicle:
- To drive to and from work
- For business or personal trips, inside or outside the dealer's county of residence
- To transport or demonstrate the vehicle
- For community events: parades, car shows, festivals, fairs, trade shows, and school events
A prospective buyer can test-drive on a dealer plate only with the dealer or an owner, officer, manager, or salesperson in the vehicle. Dealer plates can't go on work or service vehicles. Driving a plated inventory vehicle is not a withdrawal from stock, so no Arkansas gross receipts tax is due on that use (§ 27-14-1704(f)).
Two more DFA rules:
- Misuse costs $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second, and $1,000 after that. It also suspends your extra plates for 6 months on a first offense and 1 year after that
- Temporary buyer's tags come from DFA at no more than $1 each, passed to the buyer at cost. A tag lasts until the vehicle is registered or 30 days after the purchase, whichever comes first
Dealer License Cost
An Arkansas Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License costs $250 a year for a Primary Dealer License and $125 a year for each Satellite Dealer License. Every other fee on this page is in the table.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Primary Dealer License | $250 a year, initial and renewal |
| Satellite Dealer License | $125 a year each, initial and renewal |
| Late renewal feeRenewed 31 days to 6 months after expiration | $35 |
| Dealer Bond | $250 a year, $25,000 bond, credit check required |
| Liability insurance | $25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000 minimum, priced by your agent |
| Dealer's Master License Plate | $100 |
| Dealer's Extra License Plate | $25 each |
| Temporary buyer's tag | $1 at most, each, passed to the buyer at cost |
Dealer License Renewal
An Arkansas Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License is valid for the calendar year, January 1 to December 31, and you renew it during January. Renewal costs the same $250 for a Primary Dealer License and $125 for each Satellite Dealer License, through the same State Police portal.
To renew, you must show you sold at least 5 used motor vehicles during the previous calendar year (§ 23-112-607(b)). A renewal 31 days to 6 months after expiration costs a $35 late fee.
Common Questions
Can you get an Arkansas Dealer License with a felony?
Yes. Arkansas's dealer statute and the State Police licensing rules contain no criminal-history bar, and there is no fingerprinting or background check. The application's only history question is whether you have held a dealer's license and whether one was suspended or revoked (§ 23-112-607(c)(10)). A denied applicant can appeal in writing within 14 days (Rule 3.1).
Can you get a Dealer License in Arkansas without a lot?
Arkansas publishes no minimum lot size, display-vehicle count, or parking-spot count. It requires an established place of business “used primarily for the sale of used motor vehicles,” with a sign legible from the street. A State Police officer inspects it before the license is issued; the full list is under Office.
How many cars can you sell in Arkansas without a Dealer License?
In Arkansas, selling 5 or more used vehicles in one calendar year creates a rebuttable presumption that you are in the business of selling them. A Dealer License is then required (§ 23-112-602(10)). Vehicles titled in your own name and used exclusively as a personal vehicle don't count.
Does Arkansas require a dealer class or exam?
No. Arkansas requires no pre-license education, no training course, and no exam for a Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License. Neither the dealer statute nor the State Police licensing rules mentions one.
Do you have to sell 5 cars a year to keep an Arkansas Dealer License?
Yes. To renew, you must establish that you sold at least 5 used motor vehicles during the previous calendar year (§ 23-112-607(b)). It is a renewal rule, and a license that goes unrenewed for more than 6 months is permanently expired.
Do salespeople need a license in Arkansas?
No. A salesperson employed by a licensed Arkansas dealer can act on the dealer's behalf without a license of their own (§ 23-112-606). The dealer lists the salespersons it will employ on its own application.
Do I need a business bank account?
No. Neither Arkansas's dealer statute nor the State Police licensing rules mention a business bank account, a bank statement, or any financial-institution disclosure. The application asks for one Social Security Number, from the President or Owner, and nothing about a bank.
Support
The Division of Arkansas State Police issues the Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's License and inspects the location. Dealer plates and temporary buyer's tags are a Department of Finance and Administration question.
| Contact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Department | Division of Arkansas State Police, Regulatory Services, Used Motor Vehicle Dealer Section |
| Phone | (501) 618-8000 State Police, licensing(501) 682-4692 DFA Office of Motor Vehicle, for plates |
| [email protected], DFA, for plates | |
| Address | One State Police Plaza DriveLittle Rock, AR 72209 |
Additional sources (3)
The forms and the portal for each step are linked in the steps. These are the law, the rules, and the agency pages the page was checked against.
- Arkansas State Police Used Motor Vehicle Dealer Licensing Rules (PDF) — the rules cited on this page. Rule 2.7 covers bond and insurance lapses, 2.12 grounds for denial, 2.14 the fee waiver, 3.1 appeals, 4.1 to 4.3 reciprocal and temporary licenses, and 4.4 military families.
- Act 710 of 2025 (HB1688), dealer's extra license plates (PDF) — the current text of Ark. Code Ann. § 27-14-1704. It sets who may drive on dealer plates and for what, the misuse fines and suspensions, and the gross receipts tax rule.
- Rule 2005-7, Dealer Plates and Tags for Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles (PDF) — the $100 master plate, the $25 extra plate, and the $1 temporary buyer's tag
